"Grandpa, I want to help!"
"Allright, Bell. You can dispose of all the little stones, I need a flat surface."
"Okay!"
Bell used a metal rake to clear the floor of stones and to make sure the ground got as flat as possible. After wandering around the village to get everything Alfia needed, they had started working on the house. First they thought about which side of the house they would add her room to. Then Zeus had started staking out and clearing the area.
Bell was really excited to help his grandfather, it was always fun to work together with him. Alfia too wanted to help...but...to her shame...she was quite the klutz. So instead of helping with the building proccess...which Zeus told Bell was a man´s job anyway...she started to take care of the house, do the laundry, cleaning and did other things.
She felt a bit bad that she wasn´t a big help, especially since it was about her room. But not everyone could be good at everything.
Alfia had to admit, she wasn´t a good cook, the only thing she was capable of, were sandwiches. So when it was break time, she brought a plate outside, with a couple of sandwiches and more tea.
She was a bit taken aback when she saw Zeus. Because the work let him sweat, he had taken off his shirt. One could easily forget, that this perverted old man was a god...but not when she saw him like this. Bell didn´t had enough experience with old people or just thought his grandfather looked like that and that was all.
But Zeus...was muscular...very muscular. And over a head taller than Alfia...he was really a man among men.
That´s the king of the Olympus for you...I see why so many women got charmed by him.
Not that Alfia was interested in Zeus in any way, she had met strong men over the years, but not even once there was one of them that was appealing to her.
"You two, it´s break time."
"Okay!"
Bell smiled happily, as he always did when he saw Alfia. Zeus wiped his forehead and grinned.
"To get lunch served by such a beauty, we sure are lucky, Bell!"
The boy looked up to his grandfather. "Are we?"
"You bet!"
Alfia sighed slighty, she knew that Zeus was just like that.
"Go and wash your hands you two, then we can eat lunch."
"´Kaaay!"
Zeus just grinned and followed Bell, his feelings about her seemed to be coming true. Alfia was here for three days now and she already changed more and more into a certain direction. She spent nearly every waking minute with Bell.
He was all too eager to show her the fields around the house, to show her the various things they grew. The sturdy god wasn´t jealous of Alfia, this was what he had hoped for. In fact, it gave him more chance and time to care for Bell in another way, Zeus had more time to write the hero books that Bell loved so much. Alfia had looked a bit amazed at the god when Bell showed her one of his books...she knew his handwriting...but was amazed at how well he could draw, it really surprised her that he wrote most of the books for Bell on his own.
And apparently, there were much more details than the stories normally had. Not that Alfia knew many hero stories, she had heard legends of course, but not with that much detail.
When Bell went to bed in the second night, Alfia asked Zeus in a soft voice how it came that he knew so many details.
Instead of answering, he just looked at her with an raised eyebrow.
Oh right...he is a god...THAT god...
Alfia forgot more than one time, that Zeus was THIS Zeus, the king of the Olympus, which appeared in many heroic stories to guide the young heroes, like he did with Heracles, one of Bell´s favorites.
She slowly lost her shyness and relaxed more and more, Alfia just wasn't used to being in such an environment...and in such company. Her life before had consisted almost entirely of fighting, death and destruction.
"It looks like we can start with the walls and the floor this afternoon."
"Can I help you, grandfather?"
Zeus leaned forward on his seat and put his left hand around Bell´s right biceps...and grinned.
"You need to eat more meat before you can lift such heavy logs."
Alfia poured herself some tea. "And vegetables."
"Vegetables too, of course."
The god couldn´t help but laugh heartily in his mind.
If this continues, than she will become more motherly than Loki´s elf.
Bell looked back and forth between them.
"Will I get big and strong then?"
"Of course, but you can´t be picky with your food."
"I won´t! Except..."
"Hm?" Alfia looked curious at Bell, so far it didn´t looked like that Bell had food he disliked.
Zeus whispered. "He doesn´t like sweet things."
"Oh."
Alfia was a bit perplexed...that the son of her dear sister of all people didn´t liked sweet things...Meteria was nearly ready to die to defend her sweets and desserts.
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After lunch was over, they sat a while together and just listened to the wind in the fields. Zeus had to admit that Alfia´s new outfit fit her quite well, but he didn´t said that loud. It was unfamiliar to see her in something else than her goth-style dress.
The people in the village only rarely used money to trade things, but instead helped each other in exchange for help or goods.
There was an old woman in the village that was really good at sewing. Alfia left her dress at the woman´s place, it would take her a while to repair it completely.
The woman asked her if she should change the dress a bit, but Alfia wanted to keep it as it was.
"Ehe, I can understand that, I was pretty wild too, in my youth."
"What...do you mean?"
Alfia wasn´t used to small talk.
The old woman smiled gently and whispered, so that only Alfia heard her.
"It surely looks very good on you, but when you walk around with your son, he might get embarrassed when he get´s a bit older."
"You mean because of the cleavage? But it has a nice, airy feeling, especially when it is hot...and Bell is only seven..."
The dress was still her favorite, she never really cared how much skin she showed. But the cleavage and that there was not much cloth on her shoulders and back had also a functional reason, it stopped her body from overheating, due to the long skirt and her covered stomach.
Alfia hated to sweat.
"I mean when other men look at you, he surely wants to protect his mother."
"Hm..I will think about it."
So for now Alfia wore a long skirt, made out of dark green cloth, a white long-sleeved shirt and a black vest. When she went to sleep that night, she eventually noticed that she had forgotten to explain to the woman that she and Bell weren´t mother and son.
But that was too late now, before the people could start to wonder why Bell´s mother was away for so long, Zeus told the villagers a heartbreaking story. It wasn´t directly a lie...it was Alfia´s story...in a way...from a certain point of view.
It wouldn´t be the last time that Zeus did something for Alfia.
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"I have to say, Mr. Cranel, you are really strong!"
"Hm? Ah that´s nothing!"
Zeus grinned while he walked he carried a few wooden boards on his right shoulder and a log under his left armpit. The villager he spoke to led an ox cart with significantly more wood beside him, Zeus carried that which didn´t fit on the cart anymore.
At first Alfia wanted to help him carry the stuff for her room, but Zeus had declined, explained to her that they shouldn´t reveal that she was much stronger than a normal human. Even when she was a mage and weakened due to her illness, not even Zeus was as strong as her.
Eventually Zeus had everything he needed for the room, as well as the furniture at the house and could start to work.
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It would take Zeus a few days to complete Alfia´s room, during that time...Alfia and Bell grew closer and closer.
And not once since arriving here has Alfia coughed...as if Bell's presence was helping her.
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While Zeus was busy building Alfia´s room, furniture and her very large bed...which he only build so big because he was too lazy to cut the boards to a shorter length...things happened in Orario.
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"Objection!"
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Lyra pointed her left index finger forward and yelled out...she always wanted to do that.
The Astrea Familia had convinced their young one to come back home, but that wouldn´t just be the end of the story.
At the next day, Ganesha and a big group of his Familia had come to the Stardust Garden. Astrea went outside to talk with him, the guild demanded from her to hand over Ryu...a trial awaited her...for her crimes.
Ganesha had talked with the guild that he would go to Astrea, so that things would go in peace. The goddess of justice thanked him and went inside to talk to Ryu. Astrea´s whole Familia went with them, they refused to back down even when their goddess told them to.
"We got our little sister just back, no way in heaven we will let them take her away!" Alise had fire in her eyes when she said that.
The others agreed.
Trials of mortals in Orario were normally quite short, since the gods could tell if someone was lying or not. But this trial wasn´t about if Ryu was guilty or not...it was about how harsh her punishment would be.
If she had just killed members of Evilus, that wouldn´t be a problem...but some of them belonged to the guild too. So the guild had to do something or it would look like they were unable to find infiltrators in their own ranks.
The trial wasn´t made public, since Ryu belonged to one of the four big Familias of Orario. The guild had a special hall for that and as always, there were special rules. The whole Astrea Familia was present, as well as Loki and her three high executives, Freya with Ottar and..to Ryu´s surprise...Syr. Loki´s and Freya´s presence was ordered by the guild, since their adventurers were stronger than Ryu. Ganesha was accompanied by Shakti, the rest belonged to the guild, led by Royman Mardeel...the fat elf.
He was also the one that led the trial.
Maybe he had hoped it would be over soon...but he didn´t thought it would go like that. Since Astrea was Ryu´s goddess, she was only allowed to answer question, but not to defend her child directly. The gods should stay aside in things like this, since they didn't want to dictate every aspect of their lives to them.
And so...the Astrea Familia let their smartest member off the leash...Lyra.
From the informations about Ryu´s rampage, that the guild had and showed, it really looked like she killed without caring who her victim was...that she had lost herself in bloodlust.
That she had used explosions to make her victims suffer, that was when Lyra yelled out the first time.
Royman coughed. "You want to say something, Ms...?"
"Lyra! What you declare is wrong. Leon isn´t capable of using explosions like that."
"You want to tell us, her character forbids her that?"
Lyra rolled her eyes. "No. I said she isn´t capable off. I was the one that showed her how I create my bombs and explosions and I never showed her how to make ones that are meant for crippling."
"And you believe she couldn´t come up with that herself?"
Lyra looked over to Ryu, who just stared forward. One by one, the Astrea Familia members grinned and shook their heads...as did Lyra. Astrea tried not to chuckle, her poor Ryu´s ear tips started to get red.
"That doesn´t change the fact that she killed people with bombs?"
"Twenty-three."
"Excuse me?"
"Twenty-three, that´s the number of Evilus´ members I killed with bombs during the dark times on my own...Leon did nothing different."
The trial continued, Astrea was really nervous. The guild continued to list the charges.
"We heard evidence that she tortured prisoners to get information, torture to the point that the prisoners would say anything..."
"Objection!"
This time it was Kaguya who jumped up and pointed forward with her remaining arm.
Royman sighed. "What is it this time."
"This is nonsense, Leon isn´t capable of that!"
"Do you mean her character?"
Kaguya rolled her eyes. "No, I mean she isn´t capable of that. First things first, she is an elf and they always have problem with doing cruel things...well except for the one who went nuts and worked for Evilus. Second, I was the one who showed her how to get informations out of people, but not by torture. Because I knew that her fragile heart wouldn´t be able to bear with that."
Maybe she was happy or embarrassed, but Ryu´s ears got even more red.
"So you´re telling me that the evidences about torture are wrong?"
Kaguya smiled. "Did you bring the ones that claimed that before a god?"
The trial continued. One by one, Ryu´s Familia members yelled out their Objection whenever it was claimed that Ryu did something that they didn´t teached her.
The turning point may have been when the gods decided to say something, it started with Ganesha. They were only allowed to give informations or tell their opinions.
Ganesha went up from his seat, Shakti at his side.
"I will just say as much. What Astrea´s child did saved the lives of many townspeople and children of mine. We all have witnessed that the battle with Evilus ended, who knows how long it would have continued without her actions...I am Ganesha."
Loki was the next.
"I talked with my cute children, they told me the same as Ganesha just did. My captain saw the opportunity that Evilus was in such a turmoil after Astrea´s child went berserk."
Loki winked to Astrea to show she didn´t really meant the last word.
"Together with Freya´s children, they broke the backbone of what remained from Evilus."
Freya just nodded without saying something. Syr next to her looked a bit uneasy, at first at Freya, then at Ryu, then at Freya again, before whispering something into the ear of the goddess.
"My child would like to say something."
Ryu´s eyes widened when she heard Freya saying "My child". Syr clapped her hands together, squeezed her eyes shut and bowed in an apology to Ryu, to show that she was sorry for not telling her. But when she thought about it, Ryu shouldn´t be too surprised, Ahnya and Mia also were Freya´s children.
"I took care of Ry-..Ms. Lyon after I found her. She explained everything that happened and I asked my friends in the city about informations."
Even Royman had heard the name Syr and knew how many "friends" she had. Syr explained for a while that she indeed got some informations that even the guild wasn´t capable of getting their hands on.
Eventually, Royman started to ask Ryu questions. She didn´t hid anything, answered every question, how she got the informations and how she identified the Evilus´ members. Royman had to gulp at some point...some of the Evilus´ members had a position pretty close to him...and he absolutely didn´t liked to get poisoned.
For the whole time, he had a magic item in his pocket which didn´t buzzed at all, it would do so if Ryu would lie.
"Ms. Lyon, why didn´t you talked to someone about your informations? Why did you do everything alone?"
"I wanted to stop the fighting, the explosions in the city and the death of innocent people, it had to happen quickly. And...I wanted to show Evilus that they can´t hide, aren´t as smart as they think they are...that we will find them, fight back and protect our city."
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Ryu´s fate would be different this time, since her Familia was there and she didn´t hid through everything. She was blacklisted by the guild for seven years, was forbidden from entering the dungeon and leaving the city.
Also the guild demanded that one of the other three big Familias kept an eye on her and keep her in check. No one knew about the strings that were pulled in the darkness, about the things that Ouranos and a certain, robed mage told Royman.
That certain mage would also visit the Astrea Familia later and told them to not talk about the Juggernaut, that this was one of the reasons why Ryu´s punishment went down a bit.
Freya smiled. "My Familia will do that."
Ryu looked surprised to the goddess of love, Syr who sat next to Freya winked.
"Astrea´s child works at the pub that my sweet Mia runs, I promise she will keep her in check. Especially since she can´t go into the dungeon, she has to earn money in another way. But I would ask to let her leave the walls of Orario until a certain point, Mia sometimes sends her stuff to help at Demeter´s fields.
Of course she will be accompanied during that time."
Astrea looked at Freya for a while before she gave her a grateful nod.
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But...this wasn´t Ryu´s complete punishment...her Familia would punish her too...fiercly.
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But they would wait until they were back home to tell her about that.
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"Leon, as the captain I order to you become my personal body pillow for the next two weeks!"
"A-Alise?"
"No buts, I´m the captain and these are my orders."
"I...can´t..."
"Hoooo? You are defying me?"
"No...I mean..."
"Ehe, sorry Alise. I already told Ryu that."
"Whaaat?! Lady Astrea, that´s unfair!"
"My right as a goddess outweighs that of the captain."
"L-Lady Astrea, please not you too!"
The truth was, Astrea was really worried about Ryu, as she was about all of her children and her heart nearly broke during the time that Ryu had vanished.
"So, for the next two weeks, you will sleep by my side, Ryu. So I can make sure you don´t run away again."
"Lady Astrea..."
"Oh and also, Mama Mia gave the okay that you can use your uniform at home. Syr even said that there is a black and white version of it."
"Eh?"
"Since the others will be tired when they come back from the dungeon...they need someone to prepare the meals, wash the clothes and such...like...a maid."
"""""""A Maid?!"""""""
The other Familia members really liked the idea.
"Lady Astrea, please not that!"
And in her mind.
Syr, how could you?!
Syr´s reason was simple...because she imagined Ryu looking cute this way.
"My decision has been made."
It was the Astrea Familias way to punish their little one for making them all so worried. Ryu would act as the Familias maid for twice the time that she had run away.
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Ryu Lyon was not happy about that...but she couldn´t know that this fate was by far the better one. And whenever she needed to breath fresh air, Syr would talk to Mia to let her and Ryu help at Demeter´s fields, sometimes with Lunor, Chloe and Ahnya...at the days when Astrea and her other children would work part time at the pub.
And even when she wasn´t allowed to enter the dungeon, Ryu would still train like a madman, so she wouldn´t fall behind her Familia.
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"Phew, slowly it´s all coming together."
Zeus wiped his forehead and smiled, proud about his work...Alfia´s room came closer and closer to be finished...but was way bigger than planned, since he didn´t wanted to waste time with cutting beams and boards...well except for the closets.
And Zeus had yet to meet a woman that would complain about her room being too big or her bed...or her closets.
It was getting late, but fortunately summer had started and it was longer before it got dark.
Dinner was already over, but Zeus wanted to continue a bit while Alfia was inside with Bell, she had promised to read one of his favorite books with him. It was unique among his hero stories, since this one had two stories in it, both about female heroes.
Due to the warmth, Bell wore a shirt and short pants, while Alfia used a dark green dress, made with light cloth. Both were sitting on the couch, their favorite spot together. A vase with some flowers was on the table, when Alfia and Bell had been out walking he had plowed some for her, he had said they were almost as pretty as she was.
Zeus was really proud of his grandson when they came back.
"Can you read it for me, Aunty?"
"Don´t you want to read, Bell?"
He smiled up to her. "Yes, but I like your voice."
It wasn´t the first time that he told her that...Bell couldn´t know how much that meant to Alfia. She had hated her own voice for so long, had the feeling that she stole something from her sister and should be as quiet as possible at all times.
"Allright, then I will start."
"Hehe."
Bell snuggled up to her side, Alfia smiled warmly and opened the book. The first thing that fell to her eyes, it was Zeus´ handwriting.
"The daughter of the sun."
There was an illustration below the title, it showed mountains, a far-eastern temple in the middle between them, the sun high up in the sky and a woman, clad in far eastern priest clothes.
There was something special about this woman.
"And so it was long, long ago, when the world was still a dark place, monsters ran across the land and kidnapped fair maidens, it took heroes to save them. But it wasn't always mortals that had to be saved and not always from monsters. The Sun Goddess Amaterasu...or her full name, Amaterasu-ō-mi-kami, was beautiful, elegant, and lovable...yet tender-hearted."
Alfia read slowly, so that Bell could look at the illustrations that Zeus had drawn. When she switched to the next side, the illustration was the same, except for the sun, there were two fine wolf ears there now.
"Amaterasu was also known as "The Sun Wolf" and it was said that her fur had indeed the color of the sun. She meant everything for the people in the far east. But when one god got really popular, others would become jealous, as did her brother Susano-o. Both got into a heated argument, after which Amaterasu took refuge in a cave, causing the world to fall into darkness, for she was the sun. The other gods tried their best to lure her out of the cave, but she didn't want to hear anything, was too hurt and scared. So it so happened that not a god but a mortal had the idea how to lure them out of the cave. So the other gods organized a noisy celebration in front of the entrance, they celebrated exuberantly, music was played, people ate and drank, dances were performed and songs were sung. At the height of her curiosity, Amaterasu wanted to find out how the others were enjoying themselves despite the lack of light. When she came out, the mortal placed a sacred band of straw in front of the entrance so that Amaterasu could no longer hide there."
She turned the book slightly for Bell, to show him the illustration...it might have been her imagination...but one of the gods there...looked very similar to a certain old man that was currently working outside.
"As the goddess of the sun came out, the sun appeared in the sky again and everyone cheered. Amaterasu turned to the mortal woman and looked surprised. It was a fox woman, with hair in the same color as the goddess, two long ears...and nine tails that moved behind her."
"Nine tails?"
Bell looked amazed at the illustration, Alfia had to admit that Zeus was really skilled. She continued the story, Amaterasu asked the woman why she had tricked her to come out, if she just wanted the sun back like everyone else. But the woman replied in her endless kindness, that she doesn´t wanted the goddess to be sad anymore. Amaterasu took a liking to the fox woman and at first made her into her high priestess, later she adopted her as her daughter. She was quite strong for a mortal, defeated countless creatures that they called Oni in the far east.
"Woah, so cool!"
Alfia didn´t knew that Zeus finished this book recently, of course it was fully intentional that he was giving them a story about mother and child right now, especially those who weren't exactly mother and child.
"Can I read the second story?"
"Of course, come here."
"Yeah!"
Bell climbed onto her lap and leaned back...Zeus would cry bloody tears if he knew that Bell was allowed to use Alfia´s bosom like a pillow...but Bell was a child. It felt so natural to do that.
"Oh, it´s the story about the hero that you are named after, Aunty."
"Huh?"
Alfia blinked...she wasn´t named after a hero.
"Aaaah! It´s one of my favorite stories, Grandpa told me the story so many times."
She held the book for him while Bell ran his finger along the page and read.
"Long ago, when titans and monsters roamed the world and the gods descended to aid mortals, there existed two groups of heroes that stood above all others. They were the bravest, the smartest, the strongest, the handsomest and the kindest of them all. There was something special about these two groups of heroes...they were called Familias. One consisted only of men and was led by the most handsome and humble of all male gods. The other consisted only of women, each more beautiful than the last, and they followed the Queen of Olympus."
Alfia´s eyes widened. Don´t tell me he...
"Among the group that followed the Queen of Olympus was one like no other. She wasn't the mortal leader of the group... but possibly the strongest of them. She was of incomparable beauty, but also very shy and often kept quiet...her name...was Alfia."
Bell pointed at the name.
"See? You have the same name as her!"
"Wow, I didn´t knew that." Alfia smiled.
But in her mind.
Zeus...what did you do?
"There were monsters in the world and there were those who were called true titans. First and foremost the king of the land, Behemoth, and the emperor of the seas, Leviathan. Those brave heroes couldn't bear to see the people suffer, so they went out to fight the titans. Oh and what horrible monsters these were! The ground shook under the thunderous footsteps of the Behemoth, the target of the group of male heroes."
There was another drawing, a shadowy representation of the Behemoth in the background...and in the foreground...the Zeus Familia...Zard especially caught Alfia's eye. Was this Zeus´ way to tell Bell a bit about his past? About his connection?
"And while the earth shook, the fairest and strongest women of mortals challenged the emperor of the seas to battle. From the snout to the tip of the tail, that gigantic sea dragon snake measured over a hundred meters. Waves swept over the land, the battle surged back and forth, the leviathan was wounded but not defeated. It looked like the heroines were going to lose...until Alfia stepped into action. That woman of infinite beauty used the "Bell of Angels" to deal the deathblow to Leviathan. It was largely thanks to her that the seas were freed from this terror and the people of the shores found peace again."
That description was much more heroic than the actual battle.
Alfia rememberred the battle against the Leviathan...it was...apocalyptic...thankfully Zeus didn´t wrote how many died there...or against the Behemoth...or what happened after that. But then it wouldn´t be a story for a child.
"See? Do you think you were named after the mighty hero, Alfia...Aunty?"
Her lips curled slightly. "Who knows, maybe my parents knew this story."
"Hehe...she is my favorite, female hero."
"Eh?..."
"Aunty?"
"Nothing.."
Bell and Alfia continued to read the story...at some point she noticed that Bell got slower and slower, his head started to sink down.
When Zeus came in, he just had to smile. Bell had fallen asleep and his head rested on Alfia´s thighs...the first lap pillow of his life. She gently stroked his hair while she had a warm, motherly smile on her lips.
Zeus wanted to whisper something...but...
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"Mama..."
Bell mumbled in his sleep.
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Alfia stopped with her hand for a second, looking uneasy...she looked at Zeus for help, he just nodded again. Then she continued to gently stroke Bell´s hair, who smiled happy in his sleep.
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Authors Note: Hello everyone and thank you again for all those Reviews. I am sorry that it takes a while at the moment but I´m pretty sick with the flu, also I needed a bit time to think about the next Spirit Child chapter, so I wrote this here first.
This will be the last chapter where we read so much about the Astrea Familia, there will just be a few sentences in the next few chapters, I wanted to show what changed for them...well now that they are alive.
To answer a few questions.
xu608: Yes Bell will find out about her sickness and it will be important later, of course he wants to help her.
YAOWA: About her copy ability...not as strong as she can, but maybe a tiny little bit. About her magic...well...maybe something..."similar" ^,..,^
alex882: Love interests will be a mayor topic, fighting will take place of course, but not entirely, this story here shall be more the adventure. But yes, politics between Familias will be very important later.
mistalenny: I can guarantee, Alfia will love Bell very much, but not in the way of a lover. About his two partners, if one of them is Tiona...I won´t say yes or no, revealing the lovers now would spoil too much.